nlMay2012
- The Cochise County Rock
- Monthly Newsletter of the Sunsites Gem & Mineral Club
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"Finding and Grinding Rocks in Cochise County, Arizona since 1965"
May 2012
This issue edited by Don Hammer
____________________________________________________________________________________
The next General Meeting of the Sunsites Gem & Mineral Club is on Monday May 14 at 7:00 pm at the Sunsites Community Center. The program will be a video from the series "How the Earth Works" by Professor Micheal E. Wysession of Washington University.
General Meeting Minutes, April 16, 2012
President Diane Dunn welcomed everyone to the monthly meeting and stated that the business meeting would be held after the program. Don Hammer introduced the speaker, Bill Burton from Tucson, who gave a presentation entitled, "Where to Look for Gold."
Meeting: The meeting began at 8:15. Diane Dunn expressed her appreciation to Don Hammer for his continuing efforts to prepare the monthly newsletter.
Treasurers Report: The Treasurers report for the current month was approved as read. The balance as of April 16, 2012 is $6627.05 as per Walter Sigel, Treasurer.
Minutes from March 12, 2012: The published minutes from the previous month were approved as published.
Field Trip for April: A gold panning trip to a private claim, approximately 4 mi SE Coronado Winery, has been scheduled for Saturday April 21. Meet at Willcox Safeway at 7:45 a.m. for departure at 8:00 a.m. Bring your usual equipment plus gold pans, pry bars, and lots of water both for drinking as well as for panning. Henri Van den bos said that Don Hammer and Jim Robb made a preliminary trip to the location and stated that high clearance vehicles are needed. Jim Robb has small vials for us to fill with our panned gold. Remember: This is a private claim & we only have permission to go there on 4/21/12!
Hospitality: Cherie Robb thanked Barbara Schmidt and Zoe Schnabel for providing refreshments. The summer picnic will be held at John & Barbara Schmidt's home on June 2. Further details will be provided in the May newsletter and at the May meeting.
Lapidary issues: Larry Strout is retiring from the lapidary shop. If anyone is in need of the facility, please call Don Hammer to arrange for a date and time. Diane Dunn suggested that the shop is in need of a clean-up day which will be scheduled for early fall.
Misc. notes: Walter Sigel brought 2 halves of a large geode which he dug out of a bank from Wood Canyon (our last field trip) and thereby won the "Best Specimen Award."
As there was no further business to be discussed, the meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Zoe Schnabel, Secretary, 4/24/12
April Field Trip
On Saturday April 21, 27 members and 4 guests assembled in the Willcox Safeway parking lot at 7:45 am and left at 8 am for Coronado Vineyards and then 4 miles east on a dirt road. The trail leading in to the wash was a bit rough but everyone made it. We parked in a camping area, loaded our water pails in the Schnabel's pickup and then grabbed our tools and walked the last 100 yards to the wash. Jim Robb setup an electric dry wash and Jack Light set up his re-circulating sluice so that we could concentrate the materials that we dug from the wash. Both also had large water tanks. Most members dug a pail or so of material from the wash and then ran it through the dry wash or sluice before panning the concentrate. Light and the Robbs showed everyone how to pan to remove the unwanted material. And they showed us the almost microscopic pieces of gold that remained in our pans even though most of us amateurs thought there wasn't any gold in the pan. Without their expertise, none of us would have found any gold - we didn't know what to look for. Most members got one or more tiny pieces of gold to carry home and even though the temperature was rapidly climbing, an easterly breeze made it relatively comfortable. We thank Jim and Cherie Robb and Jack Light for an interesting and informative field trip panning for gold.
May Field Trip
We will go to Dry Canyon in the Whetstones for marine fossils and quartz crystals. Meet in the south parking lot at Love's (formerly Gas City) - exit 302 off I-10 - at 7:45 am to leave at 8 am on Saturday May 19. High clearance is needed. Bring light digging tools, water, lunch, lawn chairs, sun protection, camera, and bags or pails.
Club Picnic
The Club picnic will be at noon on Saturday June 2 at John & Barbara Schmidt's home at 1149 W. Trigger Lane, Cochise, AZ. 727-385-0903. Go west on Ironwood Road, turn north on Cochise Stronghold Road, turn west on Dream Catcher Way, turn north on Panorama Way, turn east on W. Trigger Lane. The club will provide the brats, plates, utensils, water, soda and spices and members are asked to bring a covered dish or dessert and lawn chairs. If you did not sign up for the picnic at the April or May meeting, please call Cherie Robb at 805-660-0074 and let her know you will be attending. Also tell Cherie if you are bringing a covered dish or dessert. More details will be provided at the May meeting.
Joe Bennett
Long time member Joe Bennett passed away on Friday April 27. He was diagnosed with metastatic, stage 4 cancer on February 24 and Joe and Claudette went back to Maine on March 22 where he had had three sessions of chemotherapy. Claudette's address is 93 Bassett Road, Winslow, ME 04901 or bennett.cla@gmail.com. In memory of Joe and at the family's request, the Club has made a donation to St. Jude's Catholic Church.
Club Website
The address of the Club Website is on the masthead of this newsletter. The Website has past newsletters, photos from almost all of our field trips and other Club information.
Lapidary and Silversmith Classes
Have been suspended until next fall.
Rocks and Minerals for Sale.
Gary Mattausch formerly had a rock shop in Cascabel. He has moved to Benson and put all of his rough rocks and many mineral specimens up for sale. If you're interested in some good prices call him at 520-507-4931 and make arrangements to visit him. He works different shifts so call ahead. His address is 882 S. La Mesa Circle in Benson.
Dues are due.
Dues are $15 for individuals and $25 for a family. Bring your dues to the next meeting or mail your check to Sunsites Gem & Mineral Club, PO Box 87, Pearce, Arizona 85625. Unpaid members will be dropped.
Club Calendar:
May
14 General Meeting
- Field Trip
June
2 Picnic
Upcoming Regional Events
June 15-17 Carlsbad, NM
Carlsbad Gem & Mineral Show. Living Desert State Park & Gardens. F-S 9a-5p, S 9a-3p. Marilyn Travis 575-885-1622.
June 29-July 1 Farmington, NM
San Juan County Gem & Mineral Society, Civic Center, 200 W. Arrington Ave., Farmington. Mickie Calvert 505-632-8288 mickie2@earthlink.net
August 3 - 5 Prescott, AZ
Prescott Gem & Mineral Club's 9th Annual Show and Sale, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, 3700 Willow Creek Rd. Judy Sullins www.prescottgemmineral.org
September 30-October 1 Roswell, NM
Chaparral Rockhounds show, Convention & Civic Center, 10th & Main, Roswell. Jeri House 575-622-3688. Jeriron90@juno.com
Officers for 2012
President: Diane Dunn 520.826.0278
V-President: Jack Light 520 824-4774
Secretary: Zoe Schnable 520 826-0100
Treasurer: Walter Sigel 520-826-1009
Deleg-at-Large: Carl Schnabel 520.826.0100
Hospit Coord: Cherie Robb 805.660.0074
Field Trip Crd: Henri van den Bos 384-0288